Replicants
The rep licants originated from eusocial insects that fed on the remains of Mortan, Primus of the Titans. These creatures of elemental metal were the first sapients to arise in Gaia following the Titanomachy, and are the source of the deity Aktai’Parapon, in a marked divergence from many other races, which were created by the gods instead of arising before them. 'The Replicant Body' “Most taxonomists still don’t meet face to face on the matter of whether replicants should be classified as living beings or not.” ''- Belanorian of Seven Estuaries, opening his lauded treatise regarding replicants.'' A replicant is a metallic life form of quantifiably variable characteristics with a default state. The default physiology of a replicant is that of an ant-shaped construct roughly four feet long and two and a half feet tall, weighting around 400 pounds. However, other than a core and framework that comprises much of a replicant’s thorax and extends somewhat into their head and abdomen, all parts of the creature are exchangeable, with three basic body configurations known to exist, called chassis: The default hexapodal chassis, the quadrupedal chassis and the bipedal chassis. It is worth mentioning that replicants are not simple machines, their bodies being comprised of, organs, musculature and fluids like any other living being. However their tissues are all metallic in nature. Replicants do not reproduce sexually and as such have no definable genders. A new replicant is built from scratch by another replicant and then infused with life through mechanisms inherent to these creatures. A non-replicant could build a perfect replicant body but that body would never become a living creature without the action of a replicant. New replicants are always built in the default state of their kind. The new replicant often shares certain personality traits with its ‘parent’. Replicants do not require nourishment for energy, but they regularly feed on metals in order to maintain a certain level of body mass. Attrition and erosion damage their bodies over time, and this feeding allows their organisms to maintain a supply of materials which to repair damages sustained. The only thing other than metals that replicants ever feed upon is shards of titanic bodies, which are processed in their bodies and converted into energy that fuels the ascension of the active replicant Hivemind into a demigod. Replicants never feed on any animal flesh or vegetable matter. A replicant denied metals for food will eventually run out of materials with which to repair itself of minor damages sustained over time and will begin to ‘age’ in a fashion, suffering incremental physical deterioration after each decade in such a state. Most replicants subject to this deterioration expire after a bit over a century of ‘starvation’, however, if their nourishment is reinstated, the replicant is capable of rehabilitating itself of the damage sustained in a decade in roughly one year. Barring such starvation or violence, replicants are effectively immortal. Another unique characteristic of replicants is their tendency to oxidize when exposed to high amounts of water for extended periods. A replicant fully immersed in water will begin to accumulate a layer of rust after 48 hours in sweet water or 24 hours in salt water. The average replicant will become fully oxidized after around two weeks in sweet water or one week in salt water. An oxidized replicant becomes immobilized but retains full awareness of its surroundings, peculiarly, replicants in such a state do not risk physical deterioration from starvation due to the protection from attrition provided by the crust of oxidized material. Sufficient trauma applied to the crust by an external source will allow the replicant to force its way out of it, assuming the trauma does not destroy the replicant first. Replicants do not require sleep and are only known to go into periods of inactivity in order to repair extensive damage sustained by their bodies, and even then they remain fully aware of their surroundings. 'The Replicant Mind' “Damn replicants don’t know a thing about personal space.” ''- A disgruntled mercenary forced to bunker with a replicant company.'' 'The Replicant Society' “As a courtesy, non-replicant visitors to the Mines Isles will be offered a lead circlet upon arrival. DO NOT REMOVE THE CIRCLET DURING YOUR STAY. But do return it when you leave.” ''- The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Gaia – Chapter 16: The Mines Islands.'' 'The Replicant Sciences' ''"I just wish she would stop building more pairs of legs for herself…" ''"What do you mean those are antennae?” ''- An intern in the Avalon Institute for the Sciences, regarding Professor Kaliklia.'' 'The Replicant Magics' “No words, no gestures, no fancy. Just things moving and lightning zapping.” ''- A simplistic description of replicant ‘psionics’.'' 'The Replicant Faith' “Replicants honor the gods but you wouldn’t want to be a nascent divine near one of their hives. Humans will enshrine you. Demons maybe will deliver you to Kalamar, or maybe fight you. Replicants will eat you.” ''- Believed to have been said by one of the High Gods to a young demigod.'' Replicants revere Aktai’Parapon. It is considered an important thing to replicant societies that any replicant join the Aktai’Parapon hive for some time at least once in its life, as a form of pilgrimage. Replicants have few opinions about gods other than Aktai’Parapon, currently. The only deity they have interacted with besides him is Kalamar, and for the most part they merely find him strange. It is noteworthy, however, that due to their origins, replicants hold an instinct to consume shards of Mortan that they come across, should these shards be sufficiently vulnerable (namely by not having ascended into a full deity or demigod yet). A replicant hive does this in hopes of ascending its hive mind into a demigod. Only the presence or previous command of a deity or demigod is likely to prevent a hive from attempting this consumption outright. 'The Replicant Insterspecies Relationships' “Demons are violent. Variations are treacherous. It is never that easy with replicants. Kind of like humans in that regard.” ''- A tip for traveling merchants.'' Replicants have yet to meaningfully interact with any other sapient races. They have watched Variations and Demons from afar, however, and find them both aesthetically unpleasant. 'The Replicant Warfare' “They came from beneath. They came from above. They came from everywhere.” ''- Transcription of a message from a fort besieged by hive Jéga’Myrmeci.'' Category:Species